Blurry satellite images of what appears to be a ship drifting in the Pacific Ocean have raised faint hopes that seven crew members, missing since their yacht disappeared off New Zealand four months ago, may be alive.

A blood-red sky in central Sydney was an angry pointer to infernos raging on the city’s outskirts, as unseasonably high temperatures and ferocious winds triggered the worst bushfire emergency in New South Wales for more than a decade.

If Julia Gillard paved the way for future female leaders in Australia, there is no sign of that legacy in new Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s Cabinet, which contains just one woman: Julie Bishop, the Foreign Minister-elect.